The rules of checkers

The complete rules of American checkers, the game known in Britain and much of the Commonwealth as English draughts. They are the rules Club Checkers follows.

Checkers and English draughts are the same game under two names: same board, same pieces, same moves. Every diagram on this page shows the board from Red's side, as in the game, and squares are referred to by their standard numbers.

The board and the pieces

The game is played on the 64 squares of an ordinary chessboard, but only the 32 dark squares are used. The board is placed so that each player has a dark square in the corner nearest their left hand. Each side starts with twelve pieces, often called men, on the dark squares of the three rows nearest to them. The two middle rows start empty.

Sets come in different colors: red and black, red and white, black and white. In American rules the darker side moves first. Here that is Red, and the players then take turns, one move each. You may not pass.

Moving

An ordinary piece moves one square diagonally forward, toward the opponent's side, onto an empty dark square. It can never move backward and never moves sideways or straight ahead: in checkers every move is diagonal.

Capturing

If an opponent's piece is diagonally next to yours, and the square directly beyond it is empty, you can capture it by jumping over it into that empty square. The captured piece is removed from the board. Ordinary pieces capture only forward, the same direction they move.

Captures are compulsory

This is the rule that gives checkers its character. If you can capture, you must, even if it costs you. Much of the tactics of the game consists of offering pieces that the opponent is forced to take, in order to set up a bigger capture in return. Club Checkers enforces the rule automatically: when a capture is available, only capturing moves can be played.

Older rule books describe the huff: if a player failed to capture, the opponent could remove the piece that should have jumped. Modern rules dropped it in favor of simply requiring the capture, and that is what you'll find in tournaments and on this site.

Multiple jumps

If, after a jump, the same piece can jump again, it must continue in the same move, and it can change direction between hops as long as each hop is forward. A single move can take two, three or more pieces this way. The jumped pieces stay on the board until the move is finished and are then all removed together, so no piece can be jumped twice.

Choosing between captures

When more than one capture is available you may choose any of them. You don't have to take the one that wins the most pieces. But once you start a capture, you must complete every jump that piece can make.

Many other versions of draughts, including international draughts, require taking the largest number of pieces. In American checkers the choice is yours, and sometimes the smaller capture is the stronger move.

Kings

When an ordinary piece reaches the far row, the opponent's back row, it is crowned and becomes a king. In a real game a second piece is stacked on top of it. Here kings are marked with a gold crown. For Red the crowning squares are 29 to 32; for White they are 1 to 4.

A king moves one square diagonally in any direction, forward or backward, and captures in any direction too. Like an ordinary piece, it can only move one square at a time. Kings are powerful because they can retreat and attack from behind, and because they can't be trapped on a single diagonal.

Crowning ends the move

A piece that reaches the far row by jumping is crowned and its move ends there, even if, as a king, it could immediately jump again backward. It has to wait for the next turn to use its new powers.

Winning the game

You win when your opponent cannot move on their turn. That happens in two ways:

• all of their pieces have been captured, or
• they still have pieces, but every one of them is blocked.

Players may also resign at any time. Club Checkers doesn't have a resign button; just start a new game.

Draws

A game is drawn when neither player can force a win, for example one king against one king, which can chase each other forever. In tournaments, players agree a draw or one of them claims it when no progress is being made. Club Checkers uses a simple automatic version of that rule: if forty moves each go by with no capture and no move by an ordinary piece, the game is declared a draw. Ordinary pieces can only move forward, so a move by one always counts as progress.

Common questions

Can ordinary pieces capture backward?

No. In American checkers only kings capture backward. (In several other versions of draughts, ordinary pieces can.)

Do I have to take the most pieces?

No. You must capture if you can, but you may choose which capture. You must, however, finish the jumps of the capture you choose.

Can a king move more than one square?

No. In American checkers a king moves one square at a time. "Flying kings" that slide along a whole diagonal belong to international and Russian draughts.

Who moves first?

The darker color: Black in a black-and-white set, Red here. Our openings guide covers the seven possible first moves.

Other versions of draughts

Checkers is one member of a large family. International draughts, popular in the Netherlands, France and West Africa, uses a 10×10 board with 20 pieces a side; ordinary pieces capture backward, kings fly along whole diagonals, and you must make the capture that takes the most pieces. Russian draughts is played on an 8×8 board with flying kings and backward captures, and a piece that reaches the far row in the middle of a capture continues jumping as a king. Italian and Spanish draughts have quirks of their own; in Italian draughts, for example, an ordinary piece may not capture a king. Club Checkers plays only American checkers.

Ready to try it? Play a game, or read some strategy first.